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Published: November 12th 2005
Guruvayur
Hafiz, Neptune, and their friend Finally made it to Kerala! My last day in Palolem was the perfect conclusion to my 'longer than expected' stay - just laid on the beach for the day and then I went to say bye to a few people - Nick over at Smuggler's Inn, Jules on the beach, and by a stroke of luck I saw Ayelet along the main street. She was about to go to Cool Breeze for dinner - which meant I had a chance to celebrate going down to Kerala with an amazing piece of Banoffee Pie!
At 11:00 I took a taxi to the train station (had a great chat with the taxi man - which won me a free trip ! wohoo!) and sat down near some other tourists. They were all going to Kerala, and so we got to chatting about their itineraries. All of us were going to different destinations, but waiting for the same train. When the train hadn't come at the expected time (11:06) we were told that it 'might be late'. The train didn't actually show up till 2:30! And when it DID come, the train station staff had failed to tell us that the AC
compartments were on the very front of the train, and in order to make it to them we would have needed to walk about 500 meters along the platform. So when we made it into the train, we were locked out of the AC compartment, and had to sit on a random bunk until the next stop! But finally, we made it to our beds - and I slept surprisingly well! The next morning I chatted to the Indian family who I was sitting with. They were lovely, and told me about the 'non-touristy' places I should visit while in Kerala. I wrote them down, and will share when I have that list with me!
My first destination in Kerala was Thissur. This is a small, lively city - but in ways of tourism doesn't have too much to see. I walked around for a while, but was dissappointed that I couldn't enter the Hindu temple around which the entire city is built! BUT they had a supermarket...and along my travels, I have come to appreciate supermarkets to a whole new level. It's something about not being able to make your own food, or REALLY choose what you're getting
Guruvayur
One of Neptune's paintings in a restaurant that makes me CRAVE my own kitchen and the ability to cook my own food. However, along with the food - there was something even more exciting (is that possible?) in the store! I was looking at the music CDs, and they had the soundtrack for 'Neal 'n Nikki' - the movie which I'm going to make my Bollywood film debut in! So it really IS going to be a movie, and I might even see it while I'm in India!
Back to the point - I actually chose to come to Thissur because a guy who I met in Anjuna had invited me to stay with him in Guruvayur. He is an American (Neptune Chapotin) who is studying traditional Keralan mural painting in Guruvayur and is starting up a business of selling his paintings as postcards and larger paintings. The paintings are beautiful - they are made with all natural paints, and depicts different gods such as Shiva and Ganesh. Luckily, he was in Thrissur when I arrived, printing some postcards. We took the bus to Guruvayur, ate a really nice dinner of Chana Bhattura and then made our way to his house. The reason
Guruvayur
Centre of Town I decided to take him was because he has lived in India most of his life, and through him, I was hoping to integrate in a new way into the Indian lifestyle and culture. He speaks Hindi and has many Indian friends through his course and social life. I have met lots of his friends, and today had the opportunity to go visit his mural painting school! At the moment I am at his friend Hafiz's house, and will be having dinner here. It is a lovely experience, and one that I am glad I was able to have - since during my travels in northern India I always felt segregated from the true day-to-day life of the people who actually inhabit this country!
Tomorrow my journey continues to Cochin!
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Simon
non-member comment
Je ne le peux pas croire, c'est magnifique!
Je vais t'envoyer un e-mail bientôt, mais pour maintenant je vuex juste te dire que tous tes histoires sont incroyables et ils m'inspirent d'aller faire et voir tous dans le monde. Tu es vraiment badass. J'amerais bien d'être aussi vivant que toi quelque jour. Vas-y! Profite toi! a bientôt!